Too much complacency on port
THE EDITOR: As a customs clerk for quite a number of years, a job which I have enjoyed and always looked at as a challenging exercise having to interface and interact with people employed in various government agencies eg the sheds, longroom, bonds and of course the CES stations at Pt Lisas and Port-of-Spain, I have seen tons of cargo landed over the side of ships and stored in the transit sheds. At times, the sheds were bursting at the seams, but cargo was always moving when one went to the shed to clear and deliver cargo, after customs inspection. There was much eagerness and enthusiasm by the Port and its workers to get as much cargo as possible out of the sheds on a daily basis. There was a business-like atmosphere. Port workers, drivers etc enjoyed delivering cargo to consignees at the various delivery doors. They did their job. My reason for going through a bit of what obtained in the not too distant past, is to let younger port employees and customs clerks know that the Port-of-Spain port was productive. Their employees worked. Today what consignees/customs clerks are witnessing is indolence and complacency particularly at shed #4 — the roll on roll off shed. This is the shed where it takes the better part of two days to clear a motor vehicle brand new or pre-owned (after four years). There seems to be no interest or urgency in getting vehicles off the docks as quickly as possible. The Customs Clerks and Brokers Association is always willing to meet and discuss problems with the Port and make suggestions in the interest of expeditious delivery of all cargo on the Port-of-Spain docks. The Port Authority and the Customs Exercise Department must know we are the people most affected. We represent commerce (import and export) big and small businesses. The recent shut down of the CES (Customs Examination Station) Port-of-Spain was as a result of complacency of an archaic system employed by both the Customs Department and the Port Authority unable to cope with increasing importation and increasing industralisation of TT. The Port Authority reminds me much of Black Stalin’s calypso "pan gone, but the panman still dey." Millions are spent, but delivery and management continue to be poor. R SQUIRES Maraval
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"Too much complacency on port"